In 2024, as rookie Angel Reese continued to prove she didn’t just belong in the WNBA but fit right into the physical, uptempo style, she was constantly haunted by one name: Caitlin Clark. Reese had won the national championship over her with LSU, and basically carried the same appeal as the first overall pick of the year. Yet, compliments continued to come in Clark’s basket, and controversies followed her. 2025 added another layer to it.

Many suggested that not only was Reese not able to make easy layups, but she also stat-padded with her own offensive boards. Frustration and her desire to win culminated in her move to Atlanta this offseason, where the Dream forward continued to grow every aspect of her game. With a 30-point performance in Game 2, she helped tie the head-to-head 1-1. Her leadership, which even the finals opponent’s head coach, Natalie Nakase, could not deny, was another aspect she has grown in. Now, in four wins, Reese could become a WNBA champion. But the ghost returned: Would she finally be able to separate herself from Clark and prove she is the better player? For ex-NFL player Emmanuel Acho, the answer is simple.

“Angel Reese has gotten significantly more offensively competent, and it’s undeniable,” he said on Tuesday’s episode of the Speakeasy podcast. “You can’t watch Angel, respectfully; I can’t, at minimum. I can’t watch somebody blow three back-to-back layups and sit there and praise him at any level — high school, middle school, WNBA, NBA. I can’t do that. But what Angel Reese is doing now, she has competent post moves that she’s committing to memory that she’s going to. That now is like, oh, you know what? That to me is now worthy of praise.

“So I understand why people were criticizing in the past. I just stayed quiet on Angel in the last several years. I’m like, ‘I’m not going to speak on all the missed layups.’ But now it’s like, hell no. You balling. I’mma tell the world when you balling and when you not — going to be conversations. The face conversation? I don’t think, unfortunately, I don’t think a championship makes her the face. But I don’t think that’s relevant.”

Angel Reese’s inability to finish around the basket for a forward has always been under scrutiny. But this time around, she has been doing anything and everything to get an upper hand. She’s understanding the height differential better, asking for the ball while identifying an opportunity for an and-1, and even creating mismatches. If you remember in the Finals Game 2, she threw her hands up and practically stopped playing for a few seconds because her teammates just won’t pass the rock. The Dream were losing at the time. She discussed it with her coaches, and after a discussion, they started playing through her. The change was immediately noticeable.

One possession later, Reese went straight into the paint and into her defender for an and-1 opportunity due to an illegal defensive screen. Atlanta didn’t look back. Seeing the trajectory the forward is on, neither is she gonna look back again. Here is how her numbers improved year over year before unleashing the postseason Barbie that not everyone was ready for.

This improved efficiency has added another dimension to the 2026 DPOY’s game, making her more than just a dominant rebounder. And this development was on full display Monday night.

After the Dream fell in the Finals series opener, Reese responded with a historic performance in Game 2, recording 30 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks to lead Atlanta to a 79-65 victory over the Golden State Valkyries. She shot 10-of-16 from the field to become the youngest player in WNBA history to record at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a Finals game.

The performance not only helped Atlanta even the series at one game apiece but also offered a compelling example of the offensive progress Acho acknowledged. Reese is still building her game in her third season in the league, but her Finals run is giving her a chance to reshape how people view her as a scorer and a leader, including her teammates.

“You can just see she wants it really bad,” Jordin Canada said after the Game 2 win. “We feed off her energy. She set the tone, for sure. And it just trickled down through the whole team.”

The victory also ended Atlanta’s ten-game losing streak in the WNBA Finals, giving the franchise its first win on that stage after being swept in its previous appearances in 2010, 2011, and 2013. But then comes the question: does that production, which could absolutely put her in contention for the Finals MVP, still match Clark’s dominance in fans’ minds?

How Clark still beats Reese in the face of the league debate

You may or may not agree with Clark being the face of the WNBA, but you also cannot ignore the difference the league experiences with and without her.

One of the clearest examples of this came during Game 1 of the semifinals between the Dream and the New York Liberty. With two of the league’s best teams facing off and stars like Breanna Stewart, Angel Reese, and Sabrina Ionescu on the court, the matchup was expected to draw a massive crowd. However, despite State Farm Arena’s capacity of more than 17,000, attendance stood at just 9,745. But here’s a contrast:

When the Dream faced the Indiana Fever during the regular season, the same arena drew 17,044 fans on both June 20 and August 16.

If not the attendance, just look at the interest brands show in either of them. Yes, Reese has big names in her bracket, but Clark’s name is present on most of the sport-dominant brands like Gatorade, State Farm, Wilson, Nike, etc.

So while Acho acknowledged Angel Reese’s improvement and believes her game now deserves greater recognition, he does not believe a championship is enough to settle the debate over the WNBA’s biggest star.